


Cursum Perficio

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Blood and Injury, Hunters & Hunting, Isolation, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, War, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-09 09:15:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20851040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Something dangerous is in the forest, and not only the short warrior from its neighbouring kingdom.





	Cursum Perficio

Silken hair shifted like ink over the river rocks. The black strands caressed the mossy edges and smooth pebbles of the creek’s bed. Pale skin glistened wetly under the sun and cooled in the leaves’ dancing shadows. The corded form arched over the stony surface, washed by the gentle stroke of the water. Levi’s fingers idled over his breastbone and scrawled through the blood dissolving from under his nails. 

Leg stinging and chest flaming with pain, he pushed himself up by his elbows. Something in his side clenched, making his face pinch in a wince. The boar had certainly won this round, and now he was bleeding and hungry for his troubles. The sword laying on the bank to his right sported a triumphant red tint, teasing him for letting the beast get away. He clicked his tongue at the blade. 

“Next time, you hear me?” It no longer bothered him that he spoke to inanimate objects, he’d accepted that he may not be entirely sane quite a long time ago. Loneliness was an ailment he did not mean to cure. “I thought I’d killed him before he took that lunge. I had him.” He could almost hear the iron laughing as he watched it rock over the grass from the wind. You had him, he imagined it saying, until he had you! He couldn’t argue with himself. 

He’d been cocksure, and it had cost him. The boar could have been as tall as himself on its hind legs. When he’d stuck it in the side he could have sworn it was dead. It fell like a dead thing, and he’d seen that enough to know what it looked like. But, as he approached the animal to start gutting it, it leapt up and thrashed, boring his calf and scoring just over his ribs. Levi was lucky the tusk didn’t pierce between the bone. 

He stood from the shallow waters, shaking his hair out and walking towards his clothes drying over a branch. They were dyed a faded brown were the blood had been too hard to wash out and torn, but they were the only clothes he had. He wrapped the clean cloth he usually wore as a scarf around his torso for a bandage before ducking into his loose shirt. He fiddled with the hole, sighing at how large it was. He would have to mend it when he returned to the village, though he loathed going back in such a state. It was rare that a beast bested him, and he wasn’t as eager as many others to see himself bleed. 

Dressed and drying, he sat on the branch, watching the stream peacefully roll over the rocks, polishing them. His leg smarted, but it was bearable to walk on. Riding would have been easier, but his horse had spooked, taking his things with it, when the bore showed himself. Even if the beast had died later from the wound Levi gave it, he wouldn’t feel as if he’d won. 

At some point, he had to get moving. Home was at least half a day’s walk from where he was, and he had no hope of reaching his previous destination with no mount. Erwin would have his skin for losing the horse and supplies. The letters to summon fighting men to the village were lost, and Levi couldn’t write to replace them. He’d pay some other way for his carelessness. 

His sheath slung over his shoulder, he began the trek back the way he came, defeat and exhaustion hugging his back and stepping on his toes. He stumbled more than he would like to admit and found himself speaking aloud before he realized he was doing it, telling the trees and grass what a fool he felt. 

“How was I to know it wasn’t done fighting? The thing laid there for a good spell. I’ve never seen a boar pull a trick like that.” The leaves rustled and chortled. He scoffed at them, amused by himself. “Go on and laugh. I’ll be laughing when you fall and die.” 

“Now, that’s quite a rude thing to say.” A head of rich auburn hair bounced up from behind a bush, mused with twigs and greenery that brought out the vivid colour of the man’s irises. Levi didn’t startle, merely stood his ground and reached for the hilt of his sword. “You were laughing, too. It’s funny.” 

“Who are you?” He pulled his blade from its scabbard. Spinning the handle expertly over his knuckles, he bent his knees and guarded the side he turned toward the threat with a fist. The tip of sharpened iron trembled slightly, the sword heavy in Levi’s hand. 

“Who I am is of no concern to you, Hunter.” Levi watched as broad shoulders emerged, followed by a bare chest and rippled abdomen. The man was almost twice his build, but he couldn’t let himself be intimidated. He was injured, but his opponent appeared to be nude. He couldn’t decide who had the advantage over the other and supposed it didn’t matter either way. If this stranger attacked him, he’d at least stick him as good as he did the boar. 

“I’d beg to disagree.” He cocked his head, looking down his nose and feigning at superiority. He gave his tone a sarcastic lilt, hoping to fog the man’s mind with indignance. “Did I catch you taking a shit, Nymph?” He didn’t look as offended as he did confused, and Levi found himself being the one struck with anger. How it was that he was the one caught off guard when the man before him was starkly naked was beyond him, and he didn’t like being made to feel a fool. “Where are your clothes?” 

“You ask a lot of questions.” Humming, the stranger stepped through the foliage and onto the path. Levi was relieved to see a pair of trousers on the man, at least, but not as thankful for the axe in his hand. “You can call me Eren. Though, I should be the one asking who you are. You’re on my property.” Eren dusted his hands before gesturing through the trees to a small house that seemed to blend with the forest around it, a pile of firewood beside a stump. 

“Never heard of you, and I didn’t know this land belonged to anyone.” Levi kept his stance rigid, poised to thrust his sword into Eren’s throat. He didn’t like the way the large, tan hand held fast to the curved wood handle of his axe. He looked strong, strong enough best Levi with the state he was in. He didn’t like it, but he felt weak, and his leg and side began to throb with heat and pain. He watched as deep, viridian eyes drifted to the fresh bloom of red in his thin linen shirt. 

“You’ll be needing that looked at,” Eren said, lifting the blade to point. Then, Levi jumped, dancing back a few steps and well outside of Eren’s swinging range. A loud bubble of laughter made him flinch, gripping the hilt more tightly and crouching lower as he prepared for anything the stranger did. Levi felt unnerved watching his face lift to the sky, painted by the midday sun running through the leaves, his throat bobbing as his shoulders shook. “What do you think I’m going to do, behead you?” Chuckles broke his words into stuttered fragments, much too amused with himself. 

Eren made to take a step towards him, and Levi lunged with his sword. However, his left leg buckled, and his aim was already compromised by the wound in his chest. Slow-moving and horrible, the world tilted around him, and all he could do was watch the hands open and close around his arms as Eren’s ear kissed the blade. Axe and sword fell into the grass, ringing against each other while Levi’s feet fumbled under his shaking knees. He wanted to think the tightening fingers over his elbows were painful and unfriendly, but his body sunk honestly into the steadying hold. His own hands rested on the insides of Eren’s joints. 

“Easy, now. No one’s trying to hurt you.” Levi felt his face heat at being spoken to like a child. He had acted rashly, though, and unfairly. If this man had meant to cut him, he could have. “Come with me, and we’ll see about your bleeding. It’s no good to go picking fights when you’re injured.” 

The humble cabin was as warm and welcoming as his host. Designs curled in the debarked logs, rough in their curves and clearly made with a knife. The only other woodcarving tool Levi had seen around the place was Eren’s heavy axe. There was a noticeable lack of sharp objects or edges around the open floor plan. He could see Eren’s straw cot in the far right corner, no definitive start or end to the bedding. The fireplace was lined with large, round stones, blackened by soot. Had he ever cleaned them? The walls were round and the dirt floor was soft and free of pebbles or roots. Levi could have almost be compelled to call it clean if anything else had been neatened with the same amount of care. Even the branches holding Eren’s drying laundry was whittled smooth. 

It was unnaturally frustrating, the lack of texture to the place. Eren moved around, snatching up a waterskin and long, clean strips of cloth wound into balls and kept with dried herbs in a wooden box. A mortar and pestle matching the small crate were placed on the wide, flat surface of a stump serving the purpose of a table. Half of it had been buried, the ground compacted to hold it upright. Levi didn’t want to ask how many restless days and nights had been spent carving away at the bark. The lone stool he’d been sat on felt like the only unfinished thing within the shelter. 

He shifted over the slightly prickly chair, feeling the seat of his pants catch and pull on splinters. His leg twinged and he rested his hand over his knee, trying to rub some of the discomfort away, his other arm wrapping his torso to press at the bone-deep gash. Blood ran over his fingers and under his nails. Watching Eren mill about was only so distracting, and Levi soon lost interest in the strange home. His head slowly dropped to rest on the hardwood, eyes glassy as they traced the growth rings. A short huff into his ear startled him. 

“If you fall asleep, I’ll assume you’re dead and plant you under my vegetables.” The concern hidden in those intense green eyes gave him away. Eren turned his back to gather a hot stick from the fire, and Levi felt his body draw up like a bowstring. His abdomen shook minutely. If this stranger thought he would be burning the wound shut, he’d have Levi’s blade to worry about. He’d never liked fire, couldn’t stand to watch the forges with Erwin as their weapons were made and barely managed to sit near the fire as it licked at his food and warmed his feet. Sweat beaded on the back of his neck as he watched the shifting, glowing end of the stick. He could feel his eyes welling as he leaned away, Eren’s hand bringing the clicking monster too close to his chest. 

His shirt was peeled away with a sickening wet sound. The blood had congealed slightly, glueing his itchy skin to the darkened fabric. Eren merely looked as the small flame reflected off his damp torso, thin layers of flesh clinging to his bones as he heaved for air that seemed to smother him. Levi found it ironic; the very thing he felt he needed most right now made him want to vomit and hack. Everything smelled like smoke and ash in seconds. It didn’t matter that it was only a twig, there were embers at the tip falling into his lap, and he could feel the heat radiating over his heart. 

That flickering light burned Levi’s eyes through the stifled tears. He didn’t know whether to think himself unlucky or not that Eren didn’t notice. He’d only just met the man, but something about that seemed unlike him. It didn’t suit the almost animal way he moved and spoke. Those visceral, primal eyes felt like hooks in his skin. 

Eren’s voice was a purr, his breath tickling the sticky, dark hair around his nipples. "It doesn't seem as if it's infected, but it will take some time to be sure." Suddenly, he was cold again and could smell wood and dirt. Each not-so-silent gasp went ignored, and he realized that it was intentional. Again, he found himself indecisive. Did he like that Eren left him alone, or did he wish the man would say something? Quietly, bronze fingers went about dipping the bandages in some green concoction before winding them up to press to his gored side, drawing a hiss from between Levi’s teeth. Then, clean, dry cloth bound the medicine soaked rags down. 

Something resembling cut up potatoes was spooned from a flat river stone over the firepit and onto similar looking plates. Eren’s embarrassment was palpable as Levi hesitantly took the food from him. “I usually have some meat on, but I hadn’t been expecting a guest. I’ll just go check the snares. You stay here and rest yourself.” Just like that, Levi was entrusted in the unfamiliar, isolated cabin with his root mush, Eren’s livelihood, and the smouldering fire.

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to comment! Feedback is extremely helpful, even (especially) if it's just to correct my grammar. I appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed reading.


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